Few cat owners have not faced such a problem as fleas. As a rule, all cats that walk, at least occasionally, on the street have these insects. However, even the "stay-at-home" from such a risk is not spared: parasites often appear in the apartment on people's clothes and shoes. Therefore, the question "how to remove fleas from a cat without using drugs" is indeed one of the most pressing.
In addition to benefits, chemicals can cause serious harm to an animal, especially when it comes to a small kitten or a nursing cat. Not to mention the fact that all these funds are not cheap.
Prevention
Preventing a problem is much easier than dealing with it. Therefore, regular cleaning of the house in which the cat lives is not a luxury, but a vital necessity. The fact is that the idea of fleas living on cats is nothing more than a myth. Tailed pets serve these insects as nothing more than a "restaurant", and fleas live on a hard surface, usually covered with nap or fabric: in carpets, sofas, mattresses and just in crevices on the floor. That is why at least once all these things need to be vacuumed and, if possible, wet cleaned.
It is imperative to shake out (or better knock out) the cat litters, wash them from time to time, treat them with antiparasitic agents or decoctions of insect repellent plants.
Room disinfection
If fleas do appear, then wet cleaning, all the more, is necessary. But you need to perform it at a more complex level. A similar disinfection is done in several stages:
- Vacuum carpets and all upholstered furniture up to a foot and a half. Fleas do not climb higher, but they settle in low ottomans and even sofa cushions with great pleasure.
- Knock out and wash the litter. It is best to do the same with the bedspreads and pillowcases that the fluffy pet is in the habit of lying on.
- An iron with a steaming function can be used to disinfect upholstered furniture. Most importantly, make sure that this "ironing" does not damage the upholstery.
- If possible, treat the room with an insect repellent, for example, "Dichlorvos", then tightly close all doors and windows for several hours. After 3 - 4 hours, the room will need to be opened and thoroughly washed again.
- If dry cleaning, for some reason, cannot be used, you can use a folk remedy. Dissolve laundry soap in warm water and add 100-200 grams of vinegar to it. Use this solution to thoroughly wipe the floor and carpets. After cleaning, close the doors and windows and leave the room as it is for 5-6 hours. Of course, the animals must be removed from the room during this time, and it is better to use a gauze bandage yourself.
- Mix equal proportions of baking soda and salt and rub this mixture thoroughly into the pile of carpets. It is advisable to leave the carpets in this form overnight (10 - 12 hours if you are cleaning in the morning). After that, the room will need to be vacuumed again, and you can let the pet back into your favorite chair.
It is best to use all methods whenever possible. But, if time or other circumstances do not allow, you can get by with a vacuum cleaner and a damp cloth. Although, of course, the result in this case will not be so impressive.
Of course, it is necessary to carry out such a "general cleaning" together with the treatment of the cat itself. Otherwise, success will be short-lived: insects will move from the pet's fur to the floor, and everything will start over. (By the way, if you remove fleas from a cat without carrying out a full cleaning of the room, the result will also be temporary: the insects remaining in the carpets will very quickly move to the animal).
Traditional methods of treating cats for fleas
Traditional methods of insect control involve the use of natural substances - first of all, a variety of herbs. Our ancestors knew a lot of tricks. Here are just a few of them.
- Boil wormwood and tansy leaves and regularly wash with this broth those surfaces on which the cat often lies: the smell of these plants scares off fleas.
- Fresh leaves of the same herbs can be put in a cat's box. Moreover, black wormwood is famous for its greatest efficiency. Tansy does not have such a powerful effect, therefore it is better to use it in combination or for prevention purposes.
- A great way to rid a cat of fleas is to make its mattress from shavings of coniferous trees - fir, thuja, pine.
- There is another miraculous plant that can expel fleas from a cat: walnut. Collect dry walnut leaves in the fall and add them regularly to the cat's "house". Fleas cannot stand this smell; but cats are very fond of.
- A decoction of cheremitsa also helps against fleas.
- In "folk veterinary medicine" there are also shampoos that can successfully replace purchased products. First of all, it is tar soap. It is absolutely harmless, so you can even wash kittens with it, starting from 5-6 weeks. The strong, long-lasting smell of this substance is great for getting rid of insects; the main thing is to make sure that the foam does not get into the eyes of the animal.
How to remove fleas from a kitten with folk remedies
Kittens up to one and a half months cannot be treated with any chemical means, so the question of "grandmother's methods" becomes especially relevant. The best (and safest) way to get rid of crumbs from fleas is to swim and then comb them out.
A weak saline solution is great against fleas. Dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of table salt in a bowl of warm water and carefully lower the kitten there. You can wash the fur in this liquid, or you can just hold the baby in it for 10 minutes. Do not forget that before bathing, you need to plug your ears with small pieces of cotton wool and carefully monitor so that water does not get into the eyes of the animal.
Great for bathing a decoction of cheremitsa, wormwood or tansy. The herbs must be boiled for 45 minutes, cooled to a temperature of 35 - 40 degrees and, after pouring into a basin, hold the kitten in it for half an hour. The water cools quickly and the kitten can freeze. Therefore, you can gradually add warm water to the container so that the temperature of the "bath" remains at the same level.
By the way, kittens, accustomed to water procedures from childhood, treat them much more calmly in the future. This means that there will be much less problems with bathing your pet.
After finishing washing the kitten, wrap it in a warm, absorbent cloth and wait until the fur is dry. You should not use a hairdryer: such a loud sound can greatly scare a fluffy baby. After that, it remains only to comb out the wool with a fine comb.
